and the issue is, there WILL be those who write about black people in other, happier mediums. there will be those who will do their best to portray black people in a positive light --- there will be hundreds upon THOUSANDS of those people yet the mainstream media chooses not to represent them.
have yall read letter for the king? no??? i hadn't either!!! its some fantasy novel written by this old dutch white person that i dont even remember the name of and BAM it was soon turned into a big-budget netflix series ( dont recommend it. yes, there is a black lead but the ending is fucking GARBAGE and there are so many plot holes its so trash dont watch ). if netlfix can turn a shit show of a book into a literal show, why cant they do the same for black authors, hm ???? they have the ability to pick up something so remarkably unknown and revolutionise it by making it a deliberate multi-million dollar success. so why don't they????
now, here comes the issue in representation itsself and, again, i know what yall are thinking. "how can there be an issue with our often underrepresented race being represented???? now you're just complaining for no reason---"
sit your ass down, becky, and let me fucking explain.
there are different kinds of black people in tv shows. for they cant just make a cool, ordinary, black character HAHAHAHAHA no no no. they have to fit a certain STEREOTYPE. a certain AGENDA. ya feel? listen, my bruddas and sistas, for i am about to enlighten u.
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BLACK PERSON, TYPE ONE: the token black friend.
now, imagine you're a white person ( i know, horrifying ) and one day you decide to write a book. this book, lets say, is a typical cliche wattpad fanfiction about harry styles titled something cringy like Before. now, even though its a steaming pile of hot garbage, people seem to flock to it like a moth to a flame and BOOM you're published officially by wattpad.
yay.
then, netflix notices that ur making money and BOOM u have ur own netlfix series in development.
one night, you're revising the script, and you realise that you've made one awful mistake --- you've made your series white as hell.
that's right. its full of milky, snow-white, caucasian, viking-looking ass colonisers --- but, thankfully, the producers have found the perfect way to rectify your problem!
they decide to alter the plotline and come up with a couple new characters with compelling backstories that actually contribute the plot in a major way and have a positive impact on the story--- LMAO JUST KIDDING AJSJSKKSSK.
instead your producers take one of the pre-existing characters and make them black while keeping their backstory exactly the same. and then they even have the AUDACITY to make the black in question the kind of person that colleges put on their brochures for diversity.
